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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24501463">Waking Up</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Branithar/pseuds/Branithar'>Branithar</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Reanimate [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>5 Seconds of Summer (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Body Horror, Cyberpunk, Human Experimentation, Inspired by Frankenstein, M/M, Science Fiction</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 05:55:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>7,059</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24501463</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Branithar/pseuds/Branithar</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A5HJ06N has lived in a lab ever since it was reanimated two years ago, content to help researchers make the world a better place. Things turn sour when one of its roommates starts to ask questions, convinced that they all deserve better. </p><p>Inspired by me rereading Frankenstein and thinking some thoughts.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Michael Clifford/Luke Hemmings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Reanimate [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1770253</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>17</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A5HJ06N gazed at the body in the tank, curled up almost protectively against the world beyond its wall of glass. Researchers in diving suits examined the various tubes and cords attached to it and waved scanners over its body, giving each other readings in distorted tones. One of them gave a thumbs up and the researcher watching with A5H gave one back before tapping at the monitor in front of the tank. </p><p>Fluid started to drain from it, the researchers inside disconnecting sensors from the body and maneuvering it so that it would be lying down on the grate floor when the last of it was gone. It took a long time, but A5H didn’t have any appointments scheduled today, so it stayed and watched until one of the researchers removed the breathing apparatus from the body’s face as another injected something into its neck. </p><p>A hose was lowered into the tank as the reanimate woke up, eyes shifting around at its surroundings, not focusing on anything in particular. One of the researchers turned on the hose and directed the water at the reanimate, cleaning off the last of the fluid. It didn’t yet know how to move, trembling and twitching against the harsh spray. Its face scrunched up and it started to wail, pained and afraid of the world outside whatever state its mind had been in before reanimation. </p><p>The hose was shut off and the researchers finished cleaning the reanimate off with sponges. It looked like it wanted to push them away, but all it could do was sob and weakly flex its deteriorated muscles. A5H didn’t remember its own reanimation, but it had probably been something like this, vulnerable and terrifying despite how sterile Elysiworks kept their facilities. </p><p>A stretcher was lowered into the tank and the researchers lifted the reanimate on, strapping it in to prevent it from accidentally throwing itself off with its uncoordinated movements. A5H moved out of the way as it was lifted out and brought to the walkway in front of the tank, two more researchers bringing over scanners to check its vitals again before rolling it out of the reanimation lab. </p><p>A5H followed them to Programming, hoping that the reanimate would stop crying after getting its foundation. Foundations came with basic language skills, mobility and independence abilities and knowledge of its role in Elysiworks, allowing reanimates to skip several tedious months of learning how to take basic care of themselves. The world would seem less foreign, and hopefully less frightening, to the reanimate once the foundation was in. </p><p>“Loud one, ay?” a programmer, Doctor Stevens, commented, fitting a headset onto the reanimate, “Let’s see, this is Lima-Two-Uniform-Echo-Six-Eight-Kilo?”</p><p>“Confirmed,” someone else responded.</p><p>“Beginning data transfer.” </p><p>L2UE68K. A5H’s new roommate. Its old one, H3F, had died a few weeks ago from an overdose of the medicine they were testing on it. A5H wondered if L2U would be testing a new version of the same drug or something else. </p><p>As information poured into L2U’s mind, it finally stopped crying. </p><p>“Day off, Alfa-Five?” Stevens asked A5H as he watched the transfer on a monitor. </p><p>“Yes sir. I thought I’d watch Lima-Two’s reanimation.”</p><p>The researcher nodded. “What about Mike-One?”</p><p>“Today is its first day of testing,” A5H told him.</p><p>“Wow, really? They grow up so fast.” </p><p>M1CC43L had been reanimated about four months ago, replacing another of A5H’s expired roommates. Since then, A5H had been responsible for teaching it things like the layout of the facility and what they did there to prepare it for testing. It expected to do the same for L2U given that M1C might need time to adjust to whatever testing it was undergoing.</p><p>When the foundation transfer was complete, L2U was moved to a wheelchair. </p><p>“You wanna take him to Admin?” Stevens suggested, sliding some documents into the pocket on the back of the wheelchair. </p><p>A5H nodded, taking the wheelchair’s handles and rolling L2U out of the lab. L2U didn’t speak on the way to Administration, but A5H didn’t really expect it to. It would need time to really process the foundation and get a solid grasp on speech and it probably didn’t have much to say anyway, having only been animate for maybe an hour. </p><p>Ms Smith in Administration examined L2U’s documents and filled out various forms, giving A5H a file on L2U’s care. It flipped through it while it waited, noticing that it was slightly different to M1C’s. Care for reanimates varied according to things like physique and pre-existing conditions in the host as well as the things they were testing, so it didn’t surprise A5H to find the guide adjusted for L2U. </p><p>Next was the Clothing Department. A5H didn’t know what L2U would be issued, since the form Smith had given him only showed each garment as a barcode, but it assumed that it would be get the standard garments for reanimates. Unless testing something that called for specific items, they only got gowns, underwear and slippers for daily wear and singlets, pants and trainers for gym wear. </p><p>When L2U was dressed, several spare sets of clothing on its lap, A5H took it to their room. M1C was back from testing, already curled up on his cot. A5H wondered what it had been testing as it put L2U’s bundle of clothes in its footlocker and pulled back the sheets on the spare cot. It helped L2U out of its gown and slippers and onto the cot, telling it to lie down so it could tuck it in. </p><p>When A5H was in its own cot and the lights were out, L2U started whimpering, softly at first but getting gradually louder. A5H listened for a minute before hearing M1C get up and go to its cot. It couldn’t see in the darkness, but from what it could hear M1C seemed to crawl under L2U’s sheets and start quietly hushing it. </p><p>L2U stopped crying, sniffles and gasps turning into even breaths as it drifted to sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A5H had tests scheduled the next day, but it had enough time to take L2U to its physio appointment after breakfast. Whatever tests M1C had done the previous day had taken a toll on it, so it stayed in L2U’s cot, assuring A5H that it didn’t have any more scheduled for a few days. </p><p>Lab 6N was where A5H did its own tests. It was in the Cybernetics Department of Elysiworks, a few floors below the Domestic Centre and accessible to A5H via chip-activated elevators. Another reanimate, F7A, joined it on the way down, gripping a file tightly and shivering uncontrollably. </p><p>“How’s the new implant?” A5H asked it. </p><p>F7A shook its head a lot. “Think it’s broken. Keep having seizures.”</p><p>A5H frowned. F7A was testing implants for humans with brain damage and the research done on it had the potential to help a lot of people. It hoped they got a few more prototypes in before F7A expired. Reanimates were expensive, especially when they couldn’t be recycled. </p><p>“See ya,” F7A said as the doors opened, limping to its lab. </p><p>A single spotlight over the chair in the middle of the room illuminated Lab 6N with a sterile green tint. A5H had glimpsed the interiors of other labs before and noticed that they were more brightly lit than 6N, but it didn’t question the difference. The researchers running its tests knew what they were doing and that was enough to satisfy it. </p><p>A5H handed Doctor Carol its file and empty pill box, sat in the chair and laid his arms palms upward on the armrests, Doctor Martin fitting a device over its head and plugging it into the implant on the back of its neck. </p><p>“Have any dreams?” Carol asked A5H, flipping through the file. </p><p>“Just one the night before last, sir,” it answered. </p><p>“Ah, yes. A giant shower?”</p><p>“Water falling from the ceiling,” A5H explained, “But it was everywhere and I couldn’t see the ceiling because it was so far away.” </p><p>Carol nodded. “Interesting.” </p><p>As Carol tapped at a tablet in his hands, Martin plugged tubes and cords into the three ports along each of A5H’s arms. </p><p>“So you didn’t do anything in this dream aside from walk and look at the lights?” Carol clarified. </p><p>“No sir.” </p><p>“Do you know where you were trying to go?” </p><p>A5H thought. “I was trying to find some purple lights that spelled ‘Fragment,’” it remembered. </p><p>“Fragment?” Martin asked, picking up her own tablet. </p><p>“Yes ma’am.” </p><p>Martin frowned, showing Carol whatever she’d brought up on the screen. </p><p>“You ready to begin?” Carol asked, gesturing for Martin to switch on the machine against the wall. </p><p>“Yes sir.” </p><p>The machine whirred to life and Martin tapped at the screen. Fluids started running down the tubes into A5H’s body, making its arms cold. It laid its head back and felt itself drifting to sleep as Carol pressed a small scanner to one of its arms and the spotlight above it dimmed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Alfa-Five?”</p><p>A5N opened its eyes blearily, seeing Martin unplugging the last of the cords in its arms. </p><p>“Can you tell me what you saw?” </p><p>“I was…in a room,” A5H recalled, grasping at the dream before it slipped away, “I was sitting on the ceiling and it was kinda dark but there were colourful lights.”</p><p>“Like the one in your last dream?” Martin asked. </p><p>“No, they were smaller. There was a pink one on a post and three yellow ones on sticks. The yellow ones were on this shelf above a hole in the bottom of the wall.” </p><p>“Did anything happen?”</p><p>“The room started to turn. I stayed on the ceiling, but the ceiling moved to where a wall was and then the floor.” </p><p>Martin frowned and took A5H’s headset off. “Was there anyone else there?”</p><p>“No, but…I felt like there were other people in rooms like that one.” It stood as Martin moved to the cabinet opposite the chair and took out A5H’s pill box, now with tonight’s dose, and a file. </p><p>“We’re going to try a new medication,” Martin informed it, handing it the bottle, “It should help you remember your dreams more easily. We’ve also scheduled you for Enrichment classes after Wednesday and Thursday’s tests, which will be shorter from now on, as well as Saturdays and Mondays. After tomorrow’s appointment, go to admin and have them update your chip.” </p><p>“Enrichment classes?” A5H took the file and flipped through to its updated schedule. </p><p>“We think they’ll help you communicate your dreams to us,” Martin explained. </p><p>A5H nodded. It barely understood many of its dreams and often found retelling them difficult. It had never taken an Enrichment class before, they were mainly for humans, but it was glad Martin and Carol had found something that might help it better serve them. These tests were supposed to find a way to make humans live longer and A5H wanted to do everything it could to reach that goal. </p><p>It was dinner time when A5H got back to the Domestic Centre. It made its way to the mess hall, quickly spotting L2U at one of the designated reanimate tables. </p><p>“Is Mike-One still resting?” A5H asked it. </p><p>L2U nodded. “Sired,” it said slowly. </p><p>Despite the foundation giving it the knowledge of how to move its mouth to make sounds, L2U would need more speech therapy to get the hang of it. </p><p>A5H dug into its meal, hungry from missing lunch despite the fact that its breakfast had been adjusted to account for it. Another reanimate, K8G, helped L2U eat, guiding its spoon from the tray to its mouth. A5H waited until they’d finished their meals before taking their trays to the bins and offering to wheel L2U out. </p><p>“We have some time before lights out,” A5H told it, “Do you wanna go somewhere?”</p><p>L2U looked at K8G questioningly. </p><p>“I could show you my room,” K8G suggested. </p><p>“Yeah,” L2U said. </p><p>“Lead the way,” A5H told K8G. </p><p>It was younger than A5H by about a year and used to speak with H3F at meals as they were both testing muscular development drugs. As a result, K8G was pretty big and spent a lot more time in Enrichment gym classes than most reanimates were required. </p><p>It turned out that K8G’s room was pretty much exactly the same as A5H’s. Four cots with footlockers and a bedside table between each pair were the only furniture in the room, though the laundry chute was on the opposite wall from the one in A5H’s room. </p><p>One of K8G’s roommates was lying on its bed, bandages covering most of its body. It greeted them with a rough voice when they came in, but otherwise didn’t move. </p><p>“Foxtrot-Three’s doing chemical resistance tests,” K8G explained, “They’re developing protections from toxic waste.”</p><p>“Pain?” L2U asked, brow furrowed as it stared at what reddened skin wasn’t covered by bandages. </p><p>“Only a bit,” K8G told it, “They’re also testing pain relief drugs on it.” </p><p>L2U was still frowning as A5H pushed him to the showers, making a small detour to get clean clothes from their room, but didn’t say anything. It let A5H undress it and help it to a stool near a shower, waiting patiently for it to put their clothes in a laundry chute and come back. A few other reanimates were showering, but many preferred to hang out in each others’ rooms to talk after dinner. </p><p>As A5H made for the taps, L2U grasped its left wrist, staring at the dark patch above its pinky. </p><p>“It’s a birthmark,” A5H told it, “My host had it when they were born and passed it on to me when they died.”</p><p>“Oh…‘ost?” </p><p>“That’s who my body belonged to. When they died, they gave their body to Elysiworks so they could reanimate it and research things that’ll make humans’ lives better.” </p><p>L2U touched the birthmark curiously. It probably hadn’t understood half of what A5H said, but it seemed interested anyway. </p><p>As it withdrew its hand, A5H went to the taps to turn on their shower. </p><p>“Cod!” L2U exclaimed when the water hit it. </p><p>“Our room’ll be warm,” A5H promised it, sponging more water over its body. </p><p>L2U kept making complaining noises as A5H cleaned it and itself, bundling into the towel it gave it when they were done. A5H dried and dressed itself before trying to coax L2U into a clean gown, running a hand over its head in frustration when it resisted. </p><p>It normally shaved on Monday nights, but A5H had predicted that it wouldn’t have time after L2U’s reanimation and taken a quick morning shower instead, hoping it would be able to do it tonight. If its hair grew out too much, it would get in the way of the headset it wore during tests. </p><p>“If you get dressed, I’ll give you some of my fruit at breakfast tomorrow,” A5H bargained. </p><p>L2U gave it a suspicious look. </p><p>A5H mimed eating. “Fruit. The sweet things you had this morning.” </p><p>“Froo,” L2U repeated, now looking interested. </p><p>“You can have more tomorrow if you give me the towel so you can dress.” </p><p>L2U reluctantly handed over the towel, shivering as A5H helped it into a clean pair of underwear. </p><p>M1C was back in its own cot when they returned to their room, curled up on its side and apparently asleep. A5H guessed that it was still exhausted from yesterday’s tests. M1C <em>always</em> greeted it when it came to dinner after its own tests. </p><p>If A5H was being honest, putting on their gowns after showering felt like a waste of time since they immediately took them off to go to bed, but the researchers didn’t like reanimates wandering around in their underwear. It took tonight’s pill with a sip of water from the bottle on the bedside table it shared with L2U and went over its file until lights out. </p><p>Just like last night, L2U started crying in the darkness. To A5H’s surprise, M1C, apparently fully awake, got up before L2U could get loud and went to its cot, again comforting it until it fell asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Heat generation?” A5H repeated, “What’s that like?” </p><p>“Hurts,” M1C said with a small grimace, guiding the spoon in L2U’s hand to its mouth with its left hand since its right was bandaged up, “I overheated really fast and my hand got burned, so they have to adjust my implants today. I got super sick, too.” </p><p>A5H wondered why humans needed to generate heat from their hands. Maybe the world outside Elysiworks was too cold for them or something. </p><p>“Froo?” L2U asked, eyes fixed on the orange slices on A5H’s tray. </p><p>A5H’s breakfast that morning had been smaller than usual since it wouldn’t be skipping lunch, so it had promised to give L2U more fruit after today’s tests. It looked particularly worn out from its physio appointment, like it was ready to doze off at any moment.</p><p>It perked up as A5H gave it the last of its fruit, looking to M1C to help it pick the pieces off its tray.</p><p>“How were your tests?” M1C asked A5H as it fed L2U an apple slice. </p><p>“No dreams,” A5H told it, not even trying to hide the disappointment in its tone. It always felt like a failure when it couldn’t dream. “Martin says my new meds might take a while to work, but…”</p><p>“At least you didn’t get burned,” M1C said in an odd tone. </p><p>A5H frowned. “The work you do is important, Mike-One. It’ll help humans have better lives.”</p><p>“I know,” it sighed, watching L2U for a moment before changing the subject, “Hey, you don’t usually have lunch on your test days. What’s happening?”</p><p>“I’m doing Enrichment classes on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday,” A5H explained. </p><p>“Enrichment classes?” M1C repeated interestedly, “What kind?” </p><p>“I dunno yet, they just gave me a form with a barcode. Doctor Martin said they’d help me communicate my dreams. Actually, I should get to Admin and have them update my chip now. See you at dinner?” </p><p>M1C waved it goodbye, L2U’s eyes following the piece of fruit still in its hand. </p><p>A5H hadn’t had its chip updated since it first got it when it began testing with Martin and Carol. It had been given access to the Cybernetics Department and then sent on its way, never needing an update until now. </p><p>Ms Smith took the form with its new schedule and scanned the code for its new class. </p><p>“Hand on the panel,” she droned, indicating to a biometric scanner with the outline of a right hand on it. </p><p>The hand had a green circle where the fleshy area between the thumb and forefinger and A5H made sure its implanted chip was over that spot even though its hand was a bit too big to fit in the outline. The machine beeped as it updated the chip and Ms Smith sent A5H on its way.</p><p>Enrichment classes were mainly for humans, but researchers sometimes signed up reanimates for them and all reanimates took part in gym classes on Sundays. A5H spotted one among the humans as it made its way to its class, its gown in stark contrast from the humans’ clothing. </p><p>A5H found its room quickly, surprised when it opened the door. The room was unlike any other A5H had seen, the desks arranged in a U shape with stools on the outside and pages with various images stuck to the walls. A few humans were sitting at the desks, some scribbling in large books, others conversing. </p><p>“Alfa-Five?” the lecturer, Miss Burgess, asked. </p><p>“Yes ma’am.” </p><p>She nodded, gesturing for it to come over. “These will be your supplies,” she told it, indicating to the box of assorted items on her desk, “Take care of them, they’re expensive.”</p><p>A5H nodded, taking the box. </p><p>“You’ll sit there,” she instructed, pointing to a desk at a far end of the U, “I don’t get many reanimates in my classes and I expect you not to disturb my students while you’re here, understood?”</p><p>“Yes ma’am.” </p><p>“You’ll raise your hand if you have questions, otherwise I expect silence.”</p><p>“Yes ma’am.”</p><p>“Take your seat.”</p><p>A5H hadn’t known what to expect from the class, but Miss Burgess explained that Martin and Carol wanted him to learn how to draw and paint its dreams. She walked it through the items in the box as the human students worked on their projects, describing the differences between the many pencils and pads of paper and various other tools. She showed it how to hold a pencil properly and, for the rest of the class, had it draw shapes and lines in a page of its sketchbook. While it couldn’t see how they would help it communicate its dreams, A5H did enjoy the exercises. It had never done anything like them before, though it saw humans use pens and styluses to write all the time. </p><p>It was sent to dinner with the instruction to practise drawing more shapes in its spare time, focusing on holding its pencil correctly and making the sides of the shapes even.</p><p>“How was it?” M1C asked, looking pale as it collected it and L2U’s meals. Its right arm was in a sling now, so it needed a trolley to hold their trays. </p><p>“Interesting. I’m learning how to draw.”</p><p>“What’s that?”</p><p>“I’ll show you when we get back to our table. Miss Burgess wanted me to take some of my stuff so I can practise tonight.” </p><p>“Your stuff?” </p><p>A5H nodded. “She had a box of all the things I’ll be using during classes. She had me leave most of it there, but I have my sketchbook.” It lifted its tray a little so M1C and L2U could see the book it was holding underneath. </p><p>A5H showed them its drawings as they ate, explaining how Burgess told it how to move its arm so it wouldn’t damage its wrist. </p><p>“She wanted me to get these circles as round as I could,” it explained, pointing to a page of circle in various sizes.</p><p>L2U pointed at them. “Sh…Sh, ss…sir…” </p><p>M1C nodded it on when it looked at it for assurance. </p><p>“Circle.” </p><p>“Circle!” M1C repeated, patting L2U on the back. </p><p>A5H pointed to the next page. “And these are triangles.”</p><p>“Ch…chuh…” </p><p>The rest of dinner was spent teaching L2U shapes and A5H felt a hint of pride that it was saving the humans that worked with L2U the trouble. </p><p>When they got to the showers, A5H had to bribe L2U into undressing with more fruit as M1C wrapped its arm in plastic. It made some progress, but when M1C was done it offered to help L2U shower instead. </p><p>“You need to shave,” it said, gesturing to its own head and face. </p><p>Apparently whatever M1C did or said to L2U worked, because by the time it was done they were both clean and wearing new gowns. They waited for it to finish showering before heading to their room together, both eager to watch A5H practise its shapes.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>M1C sleeping in L2U’s cot became routine to the point that it no longer waited for L2U to start crying. Once the lights were out, it made its way over and cuddled up. They didn’t talk about it in the morning, so A5H didn’t bring it up either, thinking that it was probably harmless and it helped L2U get to sleep anyway. As far as it knew, there weren’t any rules saying they <em>had</em> to sleep in separate cots. </p><p>Although Miss Burgess always had A5H practice shapes before it started on anything else, new exercises quickly joined its repertoire. It learned how to use pressure to create different shades with its pencil and make the shapes look like 3D objects. It still wasn’t having much success in translating its frequently vivid dreams onto paper, but Miss Burgess said that it had talent and would get there eventually. The things A5H was learning were fascinating anyway, so it guiltily thought to itself that it would like to continue learning “art” whether it was actually useful or not. </p><p>M1C kept getting injured and sick in testing, but A5H liked to think of failures as stepping stones to eventual successes. M1C seemed to only agree with that sentiment when it had to miss Enrichment gym classes and A5H suspected that it just didn’t like working hard, despite the importance of staying healthy for its researchers. </p><p>The first time A5H seriously thought about reporting M1C’s behaviour was at breakfast a month after L2U’s reanimation. L2U was finally out of its wheelchair and using crutches to get around, coordinated enough to feed itself, though it still preferred to have M1C help since it said its hands hurt when it used them too much. </p><p>As M1C fed it a slice of fruit, it glanced around and put this morning’s medication in its cup. </p><p>“What are you doing?”A5H asked, watching the pills dissolve. </p><p>M1C shrugged. “I wanna see what happens if I stop taking them.”</p><p>“Mike-One-”</p><p>“Do you know what they do?”</p><p>A5H hesitated. “They calm us.”</p><p>“What does that mean? What happens if we’re not calm?”</p><p>“We’re less useful to Elysiworks. And humanity.” </p><p>“That sounds like something you’re repeating from somewhere,” M1C criticised, “You’re only saying it ‘cause it’s what we’re told to say.” </p><p>L2U picked up its own pills and added them to M1C’s cup. </p><p>“<em>Lima-Two,</em>” A5H hissed, glancing at the guards around them, though none were looking at their table. </p><p>L2U looked down at its plate guiltily. </p><p>“You’re a bad influence,” A5H accused M1C, “I’m gonna report you if you don’t take them tomorrow.”</p><p>“Alfa-Five…” M1C whined, “Don’t you wanna see what happens? It’s an experiment.”</p><p>“It’ll interfere with your tests,” A5H told it, trying not to show that M1C was making it curious now. </p><p>A5H didn’t want to report it anyway, if it was being honest. M1C was the only one who knew how to calm L2U’s anxiety. It was nervous about everything and often tried to skip out on gym if M1C couldn’t make it. </p><p>L2U pouted at A5H.</p><p>“Fine, I won’t report you if you promise you’ll both start taking them again as soon as you start feeling wrong,” A5H surrendered. </p><p>“Deal.” </p><p>A5H glanced at the guards around the room. They’d better hope they didn’t get caught. Not taking medication was <em>definitely</em> against the rules.</p><p>“Have you drawn anything new?” L2U asked, pointing at A5H’s sketchbook. </p><p>M1C and L2U’s demeanours changed alarmingly quickly after they stopped taking their breakfast meds. Although A5H knew it should report them, it reasoned that the changes weren’t necessarily bad, just strange. They both seemed more energised at times, eyes bright in a way A5H had only occasionally seen in some humans. M1C’s optimism during those times was good for it, A5H decided. </p><p>Sometimes they had lows though, usually after M1C received a new injury during testing and was complaining about the pain and bandages around its right hand. It would criticise Elysiworks and its researchers, asking A5H why they were treated so differently from the humans. Although A5H was satisfied with the answer that it was better for the research, M1C never accepted its words. Only L2U’s sympathy was enough to calm it. </p><p>Sometimes, A5H simply couldn’t figure out the reasons behind their actions.</p><p>“Alfa-Five,” M1C whispered during gym one Sunday. </p><p>“What’s up?” A5H put down the weights it was holding and took the opportunity to wipe the sweat off its face with a towel. </p><p>“I cut the cord on a treadmill.”</p><p>“Report it,” A5H advised, matching its hushed tone.</p><p>“No, I cut it on purpose.” </p><p>“<em>Why?</em>” A5H frowned at it and realised it was staring at the treadmills. </p><p>“The one on the far left,” M1C told it. </p><p>A5H looked with it and saw K8G step onto the treadmill in question. It tried to press a few buttons, but nothing happened. As it bent down to flick the switch at the wall a few times, M1C started giggling. K8G called for an instructor and they both puzzled over the broken treadmill until the instructor sent it to a knew one. </p><p>As the instructor noticed the cut cord, M1C laughed. The instructor working with a reanimate that was doing chin-ups frowned at them. </p><p>“Stop that,” she said. </p><p>“Stop what?” M1C asked, still smiling. </p><p>“Stop…smiling. It’s creepy.”</p><p>“What’s smiling?”</p><p>“What you’re doing with your mouth,” A5H explained, “When you show your teeth.” </p><p>M1C touched its face in surprise and the instructor shook her head, turning back to the reanimate in front of it. </p><p>“You’ll get disciplined,” A5H warned, picking up its weights again. </p><p>“No I won’t. That treadmill isn’t in view of any of the cameras.” </p><p>“You will if you don’t exercise,” A5H argued, both alarmed and relieved at M1C’s care to not get caught. </p><p>M1C rolled its eyes and grabbed one of the smallest weights on the rack, curling its arm a couple of times. </p><p>L2U stumbled over to them, unsteady without its crutches. A5H theorised that it had trouble balancing because its legs were so long. Its four feet of height had turned into over six once it was out of the wheelchair. </p><p>“Did you do it?” it whispered. </p><p>M1C grinned and nodded. </p><p>“What happened?” </p><p>“Kilo-Eight was so confused!” </p><p>L2U grinned. </p><p>A5H frowned.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I didn't really do much of a final read-through before posting because I'm still sick and not in a good place for writing but I really wanted to finally put something up since it's been so long. I'm pretty sure I've had this done for ages anyway, but please let me know if there are any missing parts or anything.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>M1C’s worrying behaviour didn’t stop with the treadmill. It started asking <em>questions</em> that had nothing to do with research or tests and felt like they were bordering on things they weren’t allowed to ask. It was almost like M1C was trying to push something, see how far that something could bend before it broke. </p><p>A5H felt a wave of apprehension pass over it when it saw M1C and L2U making conversation with some researchers at dinner one night. It didn’t want to get too involved, but part of it hoped that if it kept an eye on M1C it could stop it before it went too far. A5H didn’t want to see it get disciplined. </p><p>It reached the group just as one of the researchers excused herself to get back to her work. </p><p>“See ya tomorrow, Mike,” she said as she left. </p><p>“How come she calls you Mike?” M1C asked the remaining researcher. </p><p>“Because that’s my name?” </p><p>“Like me? Mike-One?”</p><p>“No. It’s short for Michael.”</p><p>“Michael,” M1C repeated, “Mike is short for Michael?” </p><p>The researcher gave an irritated huff. “I have to check up on something.” He left without another word and M1C stared after him with narrowed eyes. </p><p>“Come on, let’s go to our table,” A5H prompted, “I have fruit for you, Lima-Two.” </p><p>Maybe the stress of M1C and L2U toeing lines was good for A5H. He’d been having more dreams recently, though they’d changed a lot. Instead of vague, abstract visions he would have disturbing nightmares that left his heart racing and his head spinning. He was apprehensive about telling Martin and Carol about them, but the research was important so he detailed everything in reports and attempted to draw and paint what he could remember. </p><p>“Why don’t they have faces?” Martin asked as she examined a painting of someone bleeding to death on a carpeted floor, one of many violent images from the past few nights. A5H had killed the human in its dream, stabbed its neck with a knife and pushed it to the ground and turned the knife on another human. </p><p>“I can never see their faces,” A5H explained, “I feel like I recognise them, but I don’t see their faces.” </p><p>“Do you recognise this man?” Carol asked, showing A5H a photo of someone on his tablet. </p><p>A5H shook its head. “I don’t think so. Who is he?” </p><p>Carol ignored the question. “Sit back. We’ll plug you in and start if that’s all.” </p><p>M1C and L2U were unusually withdrawn at dinner that night. A5H was afraid they’d done something wrong, but wanted to know anyway in case it could help them fix it. </p><p>“What’s up with you guys?” it asked as it scraped fruit onto L2U’s tray. </p><p>“Foxtrot-Three expired,” M1C bit. </p><p>A5H frowned. “That’s a shame. I hope the research done on it was helpful.” </p><p>M1C scoffed and stabbed at a potato with its fork. Its expression changed when it spotted someone behind A5H. “Hey!” </p><p>A5H looked back and saw a researcher with an empty tray, probably on their way to dispose of it before heading off to wherever researchers went at the end of the day. The researcher frowned and came to their table. </p><p>“Something wrong?” </p><p>“Doctor Evans, right?”</p><p>“That’s me.”</p><p>“What happened to Foxtrot-Three?” </p><p>“Mike-One,” A5H warned. </p><p>“It expired.”</p><p>“How?” </p><p>“Poisoning. It’s implants didn’t shield its skin from the chemicals we were spraying on it well enough.” </p><p>A5H eyed M1C, hoping it didn’t do anything stupid at that answer. </p><p>“How come we’re ‘it?’” M1C asked instead, surprising everyone. </p><p>Evans frowned at him. “What?”</p><p>“Stevens is a ‘he,’ you’re a ‘she,” why am I an ‘it,’ like a pen or something?” </p><p>“We’re humans,” she explained, “You’re tools for research, you don’t need human pronouns.” </p><p>“I wanna be ‘he,’” M1C said. </p><p>Evans scoffed in amusement and shook her head. “Whatever you say.”</p><p>“Can I be ‘he’ too?” L2U asked M1C. </p><p>“Yes,” M1C decided, “We’re both ‘he’ now.”</p><p>Evans rolled her eyes. “I have to go.” </p><p>As carefully as A5H watched M1C, <em>he</em> didn’t do anything concerning after that, much to its relief. Everything seemed okay until L2U’s first day of testing came around and he didn’t come to lunch or dinner. After their showers, A5H occupied itself with another painting, this one of a dark room filled with colours and people. </p><p>M1C sat on L2U’s bed and stared intently at A5H for a minute. Though M1C and L2U liked to watch A5H work occasionally, it suspected that this was different.</p><p>“What’s up?” A5H asked, hoping M1C would leave it to its work if it just humoured him for a while. </p><p>“I wanna leave.” </p><p>A5H stopped painting and looked up at him. “You want a new room?” </p><p>“No. I wanna leave Elysiworks.”</p><p>Shaking its head, A5H accepted that this would be a longer conversation and started packing up its acrylics. “You can’t. You have to stay and complete your tests.” </p><p>“What happens after I complete them all?”</p><p>The question felt like a trap. A5H set its sketchbook down and went to the sink to clean its brush.</p><p>“More tests,” M1C supplied when A5H didn’t reply, “They’ll keep testing until I break and expire.” </p><p>“That’s what we’re made to do.”</p><p>“I don’t care. I don’t want this to be my whole life, I wanna know what it’s like outside.” </p><p>“It’s dangerous out there,” A5H answered, “That’s why they need us. To help them live.”</p><p>“Don’t we deserve to live too? Why do <em>we</em> have to suffer?”</p><p>“You should be grateful,” A5H bit, finally turning back to M1C, “We’re only alive because they poured resources and time into reanimating us. We <em>owe</em> it to them to suffer for humanity.” </p><p>“What about Lima-Two?”</p><p>A5H looked away again. </p><p>“Does he deserve to suffer too?” </p><p>“If that’s his purpose.” Something twisted in A5H’s gut as it said it. “We don’t know what they’ll test on him anyway. It might be completely painless.” </p><p>“What if they’re burning him to death like they did Foxtrot-Three?” </p><p>A5H fidgeted with its brush, the thought making it feel strangely ill. “How would you get out anyway?”</p><p>“I don’t know,” M1C confessed, “That’s why I want your help. You’re the oldest and they trust you. You could find things out for us. We could escape together.” </p><p>“We’ll get expired.”</p><p>“They’ll kill us,” M1C snapped, a foreign and scary expression falling over its face, “That’s what you mean. We’re not just pills or food, we’re <em>people</em> and we <em>die.</em>”</p><p>“Mike-One…”</p><p>“You don’t have to come with us, then,” M1C bargained, “Just stop taking your pills at breakfast, like us. See how you feel after a fortnight. See if you start to actually give a shit about Foxtrot-Three.” </p><p>A5H eyed M1C. “Fine,” it surrendered, “One fortnight. After that, you’ll leave me alone.” </p><p>Before M1C could reply, the door opened and L2U stumbled in, red faced and sobbing. </p><p>“<em>Lima-Two!</em>” M1C rushed to his side. </p><p>L2U yelped in pain when M1C touched his arm and cried harder, falling to his bed. </p><p>“What happened?” M1C tried to ask, but L2U couldn’t get a word out in between heaving breaths. </p><p>“It- his arm is bandaged,” A5H pointed out, eyeing the wraps visible under the right sleeve of his gown. </p><p>“Can I?” M1C asked, fingers on the ties at the back of the gown. </p><p>L2U sniffled and nodded. </p><p>M1C untied the strings and carefully slid the material off L2U’s shoulder. He gasped when he saw the dressings, clear over the wound and secured with bandages above and below it. A5H recognised that kind of dressing from other reanimates. Bandages like that were used when researchers wanted to monitor wounds without agitating them by constantly applying and removing normal bandages. </p><p>Under the clear section, a three by three inch square of skin was missing, exposing the raw muscle underneath.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Why?” M1C asked softly.</p><p>“They said they’re … they’re testing tissue and limb regeneration,” L2U whimpered. </p><p>“Limb regeneration?” </p><p>M1C’s eyes widened. “They’re not-” He looked at A5H. “They’re not gonna amputate your foot or something, are they?”</p><p>“Amputate?” L2U asked.</p><p>“It’s when they remove a limb or appendage,” A5H explained automatically. </p><p>L2U stared up at A5H, eyes huge and red. </p><p>“They <em>won’t,</em>” A5H told him. </p><p>“Yeah they will,” M1C said quietly, “That’s what they do. They get a satisfying result and then they kick it up a notch until they’ve either pushed it to its limits or killed you.” </p><p>L2U’s breathing grew faster and heavier as it stared at M1C. </p><p>“Even if you survive, they’ll just sign you up for new tests until something <em>does</em> kill you.” </p><p>“You’re scaring it- him,” A5H scolded. </p><p>“He <em>should</em> be scared,” M1C returned, “We should <em>all</em> be scared, ‘cause this isn’t gonna end if we don’t get out of here.” </p><p>“I don’t wanna die,” L2U sobbed, shaking his head. </p><p>A5H sat beside him and put a hand on his back, the way it had seen M1C do a few times. “You’re not gonna die.” </p><p>M1C gave him a hard look, determination clear in his eyes. </p><p>A5H sighed. “We’re gonna get out of here before that happens.” </p><p>It was a ridiculous promise, A5H knew that. Other reanimates had <em>tried</em> leaving and they always ended up either disciplined into behaving or expired because they just weren’t worth the resources. L2U was young, though, not even a year old, and he trusted A5H’s words so easily that it made something inside it twist uncomfortably. </p><p>Dissolving its medication in a cup with M1C and L2U, always glancing around to see if anyone was watching them, became A5H’s new morning routine, along with assuring L2U that his researchers weren’t going to kill him every time he had testing scheduled. So far they were only checking on how the patch on his bicep was healing and even A5H could tell that the skin was regrowing a lot faster than it normally would. </p><p>For about half a week it didn’t notice a difference in its mental state aside from more worrying over M1C and L2U than usual. Then it had another nightmare. </p><p>The water pouring from the dark, distant ceiling would have soaked A5H to the bone if it hadn’t been wearing a long, hooded coat. It pulled a device from its pocket, some kind of tablet only smaller, and noted that it was 12:06am. Looking up, it saw thousands of falling water droplets lit purple by lights in the shapes of letters spelling FRAGMENT. </p><p>A5H found itself standing in a dark room and remembered walking through a room full of moving bodies, asking someone behind a long table for a drink of something strong and making its way up some stairs. A human asked it where it had been and it didn’t reply. It opened its coat and pulled a device that looked kind of like a stun gun out of an inner pocket, aiming at the human and pulling the trigger. </p><p>A5H woke up with a racing heart and knew that it had killed the human. It stumbled to the sink to throw up, telling itself over and over that it was just a dream, that it hadn’t really done something so <em>wrong.</em> The thought wasn’t much comfort, though. Why did it keep dreaming things like that? </p><p>Luckily, A5H hadn’t woken up M1C and L2U. They slept peacefully as it took out its sketch book and coloured pencils, mainly relying on its memory of where each colour was in the tin as it worked in the low light. It wasn’t sure how long it scribbled in the book, but by the time the lights came on it had filled several pages with rough drawings and sketches. As L2U and M1C woke, it packed up its pencils and moved on to its report. </p><p>Walking into its lab after breakfast, A5H was apprehensive about what Martin and Carol would think of the dream. It wasn’t much worse than others it had been having recently, in fact it was even tame compared to some, but A5H couldn’t shake its worry. Would they think it was dangerous, that it intended to actually hurt humans? What if they guessed that it had stopped taking its meds every morning? </p><p>Despite its concerns, Martin and Carol seemed pleased with the dream and by dinner no one had come along to put A5H in cuffs. </p><p>“You okay?” M1C asked as they ate. </p><p>A5H nodded. </p><p>“I know it feels weird to stop taking the meds, but it’s worth it,” M1C promised. </p><p>“I haven’t really noticed any changes,” A5H told him. It was too soon to blame its mental state on the lack of meds. </p><p>“You will.” </p><p>The nightmares persisted and M1C turned out to be right. A5H didn’t know how to describe it, but its thoughts felt different after each one, as if something really bad was happening. It had always been cautious of rule breaking and disciplining, but this was different, intense in a way that A5H was unfamiliar with. It was <em>afraid</em> when it woke up. </p><p>L2U was afraid too, and A5H found itself understanding it in a way that it never had. M1C was right, once L2U’s skin healed its researchers would do something else and they’d be lucky if they just cut off another patch of skin.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>oof, it's about time I updated this one. I know it's not as popular as some of my other fics, but I enjoy writing it.</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Let me know what you think! I accept anons at @/tran5rightsos on Tumblr.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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